COVID-19 POLICY STAGE FOUR RESTRICTION - ISSUE DATE: AUGUST 2020 | REVIEW DATE: SEPTEMBER 2020 - Coburg ...
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COVID-19 POLICY
STAGE FOUR RESTRICTION
ISSUE DATE: AUGUST 2020 | REVIEW DATE: SEPTEMBER 2020
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to outline to parents, carers and students how our school will
be managing risk and other operational matters relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19) during
Term 3, 2020 and beyond if necessary, under departmental advice.
Coburg North Primary School is committed to providing a safe learning and working
environment for our students and staff. We ask for all members of the school community to
follow this policy to enable us to provide the safest possible environment during this time.
We all have a role to play in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria.
Background
Coburg North Primary School is following the advice from the Department of Education and
Training which can be found on the Department’s website at: Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Scope
This policy applies to everyone in the Coburg North Primary School community. This includes
all members of staff (principals, teachers and education support staff), all parents/carers who
interact with the school and all students. It also includes visitors to the school. Information
specific to staff only and not relevant to students and their families is not included in this
policy.
Details
Learning from home requirement and on-site attendance exceptions
During Stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions all students must learn from home. Unless otherwise
stated by the department.
On-site supervision will be available for P-6 students in the following categories, based on
revised Department criteria as at 18 August 2020:
1. Children whose parents are permitted workers and for whom no other supervision
arrangements can be made.
a. Where there are two parents/carers, both must be permitted workers,
working outside the home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site
provision.
b. For single parents/carers, the permitted worker must be working outside the
home in order for their children to be eligible for on-site provision
2. vulnerable children including:
a. children in out-of-home care
b. children deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family
violence service, and is assessed as requiring education and care outside the
family homec. children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a
government agency, or funded family violence agency, homeless or youth
justice service or mental health or other health service).
d. children with a disability where the family is experiencing severe stress.
All families requiring on-site attendance must complete the on-site attendance form
indicating the days/part-days required, to enable us to plan for adequate resourcing. Contact
the school’s front office to arrange for this form to be emailed to you. Phone: 9354 1660 or
coburg.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au
If your child meets any of the above categories but has complex medical needs (including
students with compromised immune systems) we encourage parents to seek advice from
their treating medical practitioner to support decision-making about whether on-site
education is suitable at this time.
Health and safety at school
Our school follows the Department and Victorian Chief Health Officer’s advice and
requirements in relation to health and safety. This means:
Unwell students (including students who have been tested)
• Unwell students must stay home.
• Where students have been tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) they are required to
isolate at home and must not attend school even if they meet the exception categories
outlined above.
Managing unwell students at school
• Students engaging in on-site learning experiencing compatible symptoms with
coronavirus (COVID-19), such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss
of smell or taste, will be isolated in an appropriate space with suitable supervision
and collected by a parent/carer as soon as possible. Urgent medical attention will be
sought where needed. Unwell students will not be permitted to travel home
unsupervised.
• Where staff or students are experiencing compatible symptoms with coronavirus, we
will ensure hand hygiene, physical distancing and use of a face covering. See DET
guidance for the use of Personal Protective Equipment in education.
• When a student with complex health needs are being supported or if the care of an
unwell child or young person is to be prolonged (for example, because it will take
some hours for a parent to collect a child) and maintaining distance is not practical
when providing direct care, gloves, gown and eye protection will be considered if
available.
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.au• Health care plans, where relevant, parent/s should provide additional advice on
monitoring and identification of the unwell child in the context of coronavirus
(COVID-19).
• If a staff member is unsure whether a student is unwell in the first instance we will
contact the parent/carer to discuss any concerns about the health status of the
student, and we will take a precautionary approach, requesting the parent/carer to
collect their child if concerns remain. A trained staff member may take the
temperature of the student, where appropriate, to support decision-making. Gloves
will be worn for the purpose of taking a temperature.
• Parent/carers of students experiencing compatible symptoms with coronavirus
(COVID-19) will be encouraged to seek the advice of their healthcare professional
who can advise on next steps. Students should not return until symptoms resolve.
• If a student spreads droplets (for example by sneezing, coughing or vomiting),
surfaces will be immediately cleaned.
Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
The Department has comprehensive procedures in place with the Department of Health and
Human Services to manage suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in
schools. In accordance with these procedures:
• We will contact the Department of Health and Human Services on 1300 651 160 to
seek advice if a student or staff member:
o is a confirmed case
o has been in close contact with a confirmed case
• We will inform the Department’s Incident Support and Operations Centre who will
support the school to make an IRIS incident alert.
DHHS defines ‘close contact’ as someone who has either:
• had at least 15 minutes of face-to-face contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus
(COVID-19)
• shared a closed space for more than two hours with someone who is a confirmed case.
Face coverings
• All school staff on site will wear face coverings unless exempt due to a medical
condition or disability but may remove their face covering when teaching students.
• As we are a primary school, students on-site are not required to wear face coverings
regardless of whether or not they are aged 12 or over, but may choose to do so.
• Under the Stage 3 restrictions parents are also required to wear face coverings
whenever they leave the house, including for a school drop off and pick up. If travelling
in a car alone, or only with members of their household, they do not need to wear a
mask.
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.auPhysical distancing
• Wherever possible we will encourage and support physical distancing of students
however the Department and Victorian Chief Health Officer has acknowledged that
physical distancing in schools is practicably difficult to achieve and has not mandated
this practice.
• Parents are asked to observe physical distancing requirements (1.5 metres) whenever
dropping off or collecting students from school.
Hand, food and drink hygiene
• Hand sanitiser will be available at entry points to classrooms and students will be
educated on the importance of this health and safety measure
• All people on school grounds must undertake regular hand hygiene, particularly on
arrival to school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing
or using the toilet.
• Where shared equipment is necessary, students will be required to exercise strict
hand hygiene before and after use.
• Students must not drink from the school water fountains and must bring their own
water bottle for use and refilling at school.
• Students must not share their food.
Temperature checks
• All students engaging in on-site learning will have their temperature taken in the
morning. Staff responsible for screening student temperatures will wear a face mask
throughout the screening process and will ensure the process allows appropriate
physical distancing between adults.
• Students with a temperature equal to or greater than 37.5 º on first reading will be
asked to wait in a separate room and will have their temperature re-checked after 15
minutes. Students may be encouraged to remove any outer layer clothing (such as a
jacket or jumper) if inside in case this is affecting the reading.
• Students with a temperature equal to or greater than 37.5 º on the second reading
will be isolated until parents/carers can collect the child as soon as possible. In these
circumstances, families will be encouraged to seek the advice of their health care
professional as soon as possible.
Mobile phones
• The Department and school’s mobile phone policies continue to apply and we ask that
students clean their phones regularly.
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.auHealth, Wellbeing and inclusions Workforces at school
• Health and wellbeing staff (such as Student Support Services, Koorie Engagement
Support Officers, Visiting Teachers and school nurses) will continue to provide support
to students as required.
• Please contact [insert contact] for further information
Record keeping for contact tracing
• To support contact tracing, we are required to keep a record of the name, contact
details, date and time of attendance of all staff, students and visitors who attend on-
site for more than 15 minutes.
• We are also required to record the areas of the school the person attended.
COVID-19 Safety Management Plan
• Our school follows and implements the Department’s COVID-19 Safety Management
Plan, available at: COVID19 Safety Management Plan.
On-site learning and supervision
In accordance with DET advice and requirements:
• The learning program delivered on-site will be the same as the learning program
delivered to students undertaking remote learning at home.
• Students on-site will be supervised by school staff on-site but will follow the teaching
and learning program provided by their classroom teacher.
• Supervision staff may be teaching staff or education support staff (with a working with
children check). Where education support staff are supervising students they will have
access to support from teaching staff.
Learning from home and supervision
The parent or carer is responsible for students’ general safety when learning remotely from
home.
Remote learning program
At our school we:
• Create a remote and flexible learning program using the guidance from the
Education and Health Departments
• use Google Classroom, iPad apps, websites, video conferencing platforms to
communicate with students and deliver their educational program
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.au• students are expected to log in, complete and submit learning tasks and participate
in video conferencing. The school understands that the number of completed tasks
and participation levels in video conferencing may vary depending on individual
circumstances and personal wellbeing
• communicate with parents and students about how the program will run and any
temporary or permanent adjustments impacting on families. E.g staff or
organisational changes, curriculum days
• assist families by loaning digital devices and internet dongles on a needs basis and
making available any materials or stationery required for their educational program
• Give regular feedback to work submitted by students
We will continue to work with the parents/carers of students with a disability, students in
out-of-home care and Koorie students via the school’s usual methods such as Student Support
Groups and maintaining any existing Individual Education Plans.
We acknowledge that remote learning from home can be a challenging experience for both
parents and students and we will continue to monitor our delivery of this program to make
it as engaging and effective as possible.
Camps, excursions, sport and recreation
Under the Stage 4 restrictions:
• Camps and excursions cannot take place.
• Swimming and aquatic facilities will not be used
• Playgrounds are not available for community use.
• Wherever possible students on-site will participate in physical education or
recreational play outdoors and will be discouraged from engaging in contact sport
Visitors and school tours
Under Department and Victorian Chief Health Officer advice and requirements visitors to
school grounds must be limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and
operations (e.g. student health and wellbeing services, cleaning and maintenance workers).
This means:
• Parent volunteers must not attend school
• Parent-teacher information sessions and interviews will be conducted remotely online
• On-site school tours for prospective students and their families will not be conducted
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.auOutside school hours care
Outside School Hours Care will continue for families who meet the on-site attendance
exceptions outlined above.
Interschool activities
All interschool activities that involve on-site attendance by students from other schools will
either take place virtually or will be cancelled.
Communication between parents/carers and our school
Parents and carers are encouraged to contact to discuss any concerns or areas of need in
regards to their child’s learning, health, wellbeing or access to teaching and learning
resources.
Cleaning and facilities management
At our school we will:
• Continue extension of routine environmental cleaning, including progressive
cleaning throughout the day to ensure that risks of transmission are reduced for
high-touch services. See Department information about Access to cleaning supplies
and services.
• At times, students will be required to share different pieces of equipment. When this
is the case we will be practising hand hygiene before and after use and cleaning
equipment on a regular basis.
Further information and resources
• DET Coronavirus (COVID-19) website:
o https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/Pages/coronavirus-advice-
schools.aspx
• DHHS Coronavirus (COVID-19) website:
o https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
• DET Infectious Diseases Policy:
o https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/infectious-diseases/policy
• DET Health Care Needs Policy:
o https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/health-care-needs/policy
• Talking to your child about COVID-19:
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.auo https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/department/covid-
19/talking-to-your-child-during-coronavirus.docx
• Department of Education and Training COVID-19 Advice Line – 1800 338 663
• Department of Health and Human Services Coronavirus hotline – 1800 675 398 (24
hours, 7 days a week)
Coburg North Primary School 180 O’Hea Street, Coburg VIC 3058
P: 03 9354 1660 F: 03 9354 8206 E: coburg.north.ps@educatiion.vic.gov.au | W: https://coburg-north-ps.vic.gov.auYou can also read
